Here is the link http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/12/education/american-colleges-finding-ideals-are-tested-abroad.html?hp&target=comments#commentsContainer I made a comment that refers to a paper by Clark Kerr that I just read and will post a link to in my Reisman, Kerr, etc… page. Here is the comment. “Though some academics are giving these subtle ethical problems some serious thought, the general public, when reading articles like […]
New York Times Behind the Times. Grade Inflation is Sooo 20th Century.
December 10, 2013 by
Here is a link to the Times article about the average grade at Harvard. http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/as-have-been-harvards-most-common-grade-for-20-years/ I tried to comment in a light vein. “I am a former math professor at an “elite” university and I’m writing to let you know that grade inflation is not the problem it used to be. We have been in a […]
Added Comment to Joe Nocera’s Opinion in NY Timse
December 10, 2013 by
Here it is. “The author writes that “…The real issue is: how do you make college affordable again?..”. If that is all we do, “…make college affordable…” we will continue to get the system we have: institutions marketing and catering to uneducated consumers (in the past, quaintly known as students), a trillion dollars of student […]
On “The Berkeley Model” by Joe Nocera at the New York Times
December 10, 2013 by
Mr. Nocera writes that Fred Wiseman’s documentary is a “big wet kiss” to Berkely. He expresses concern about the cost of education (which he should) and writes that “The real issue is: how do you make college more affordable today.” I am worried that many people like Joe Nocera and Jon Meacham (See Why Do […]
American 15-Year-Olds Fall Further Back in Math
December 3, 2013 by
The New York Tims and the Wall Street Journal both reported the results of the 2012 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). (http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/03/education/american-15-year-olds-lag-mainly-in-math-on-international-standardized-tests.html?ref=us&_r=0 http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304579404579234511824563116) I commented on wsj.com and I wll follow up with a post that contains another personal story. Here is my comment. “I am a former math professor who taught at an […]
Gina Kolata’s New York Times Article Gives Helpful Insight for Flawed Cholesterol Calculator
November 19, 2013 by
Gina Kolata wrote again today about the cholesterol calculator that exaggerates “…the true risk of a heart attack or stroke by an average of 100 percent…” http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/19/health/flawed-gauge-for-cholesterol-risk-poses-a-new-challenge-for-cardiologists.html?ref=us This article gives more insight into the statistical/mathematical problems: “…Dr. H. Gilbert Welch, a medical professor at Dartmouth [says] the calculator, like many others used in medicine, is […]
“At Berkeley” is not “At College”
November 8, 2013 by
Here is the pre-review I posted on the New York Times movie site. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/movies/at-berkeley-a-documentary-by-frederick-wiseman.html?ref=movies&_r=0#preview “I’m a former math professor. I worry that viewers of “At Berkeley” will leave with an impression of colleges and universities. That would be a big mistake. It is not true that “a college is a college is a college”. I […]
The Economist Cover Story “How Science Goes Wrong” and NY Times “Risk Calculator for Cholesterol Appears Flawed”; Connected?
Both of these stories focus on what could be a failure of professionals to understand and utilize quantitative data and methods. In the case of the cholesterol test, I have no way of knowing exactly how the failure occured. But I am worried that it is symptomatic of our problems in higher education. I posted […]